Distance learning, often known as distance education, is a type of learning in which students are not required to attend class in a physical location such as a classroom. Synchronous and asynchronous learning are the two forms of distance education that are available. Synchronous learning is defined as a situation in which both participants must be present at the same time during the session. Asynchronous learning refers to when the student may access the content at their convenience and their timing. This study focuses on the fundamental decisions necessary for an organization to start or expand a distance learning program.
Decision-makers should pay more attention to organizational structures, particularly as they relate to student service. One issue with distance learning planning is that it places an excessive amount of emphasis on instruction rather than student services. Distance learning is about enabling students who are unable or unwilling to come to learning institutions by delivering the same sorts of student services online that an on-campus student has (Kireev et al., 2019). Therefore, decision-makers must grapple with the problem of distant learning planning, as institutions are caught between the desire to serve students online and the requirement to maintain traditional student services.
The majority of distant learning planning relies on cost and people difficulties rather than important pedagogical challenges. Distance learning is a unique and cohesive sector of education aiming at novel delivery means and pedagogical philosophy rather than a teaching methodology. Administrators have a habit of putting strict constraints on how to do technology work while expecting wide results. Technology is only a means to an end, not an end in itself (Surma & Kirschner, 2020). The removal of access hurdles does not imply that the impediments to student achievement have been removed. Administrators appear to assume that if they provide the technology, the students and courses will follow. Decision-makers should consider the likelihood of teachers changing their teaching methods. Therefore, the technological infrastructure should be constructed with the intellectual and pedagogical needs of distant learning programs in mind.
Instructors will require training and support before accepting this new teaching paradigm; thus, decision-makers should keep that in mind. The teachers must also be aware of how their course’s details will be applied in the new environment. This fast evolution of knowledge necessitates new curriculum creation, and instructors must be more flexible in their teaching. In order to connect with their students effectively in distance learning, teachers must have not only a thorough understanding of the subject matter but also interpersonal skills to coordinate students online (Markova et al., 2017). Student learning can be improved when an instructor’s professional development requirements are satisfied. Therefore, administrators should consider educating teachers on new technologies and training methods to assist them in dealing effectively with change.
Decision-makers should consider all stakeholders’ respect, value, and experience while developing the learning institution’s vision and plan for distance learning. Many remote learning programs are developed based on a vision that is not widely accepted and goals that are not communicated clearly. It will be simpler to reach a campus-wide consensus on the vision if the administration, teachers, staff, and students are all involved in the process (Simpson, 2018). Consequently, teachers should be involved in setting the priorities, rules, and processes for adopting distance. Many difficulties may not be addressed, and concerns may stay unanswered without the dedication of individuals engaged in decision-making, generating uncertainty, irritation, and dissatisfaction. The problem for educational institutions in the twenty-first century is to determine not why they should have a distant learning program but how to develop and implement one (Unger & Meiran, 2020). Therefore, knowing how to plan a good program with vision is critical to their success.
Additionally, decision-makers should consider the integration of distance learning into organizational vision and culture. The challenge for learning institutions is creating a self-reforming system. Traditional learning institutions may not disappear, but organizational change is expected due to the changes and advancements that distant learning offers to teaching, learning, and satisfying student needs. Curriculum and teaching are also undergoing adjustments. In the online context, the instructor’s job will be unbundled (Schneider & Council, 2021). Therefore, unbundling means that multiple persons will be responsible for different aspects of a typical instructor’s job. Education will become a more personalized process in which neither the instructor nor the student will miss a class. Thus, for distant learning to be effective, it must be integrated into the learning institution’s organizational structure and vision.
Distance learning programs and the technology and personnel required to support them may be a costly endeavor for learning institutions. While the initiative is executed, a lack of suitable preparation will only produce budgetary and otherwise issues. The time it takes to plan for all aspects of remote learning properly will assist the institution in making the most of its limited resources. The goal of planning is to implement ways to match an institution with its surroundings. It allows an organization to develop and adapt systematically and purposefully; it contributes a lot to learning. Therefore, decision-makers must evaluate all aspects of giving an education, which is much more than merely placing lessons online, in order to create a successful distance learning program.
References
Kireev, B., Zhundibayeva, A., & Aktanova, A. (2019). Distance learning in higher education institutions: Results of an experiment. Journal of Social Studies Education Research, 10(3), 387-403.
Markova, T., Glazkova, I., & Zaborova, E. (2017). Quality issues of online distance learning. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 237, 685-691.
Schneider, S. L., & Council, M. L. (2021). Distance learning in the era of COVID-19. Archives of Dermatological Research, 313(5), 389-390.
Simpson, O. (2018). Supporting students in online, open, and distance learning. Routledge.
Surma, T., & Kirschner, P. A. (2020). Technology-enhanced distance learning should not forget how learning happens—Computers in Human Behavior, 110, 106390.
Unger, S., & Meiran, W. R. (2020). Student attitudes towards online education during the COVID-19 viral outbreak of 2020: Distance learning in a time of social distance. International Journal of Technology in Education and Science, 4(4), 256-266.
Zaborova, E. N., Glazkova, I. G., & Markova, T. L. (2017). Distance learning: Students’ perspective. Sociological Studies, 2(2), 131-139.